ROCKFORD — The man who has shepherded the city’s major infrastructure improvements for more than eight years has resigned.

City officials said they reached a mutual agreement to part ways with capital program manager Pat Zuroske. The Rockford native resigned April 25; he could not be reached by phone.

Zuroske spent 23 years in the private sector and became the city’s capital program manager in December 2005. He was responsible for drafting and implementing the city’s five-year infrastructure plans and guided the city through several significant projects, including the $7 million construction of the Riverwalk behind Burpee Museum of Natural History, the removal of the pedestrian mall on North Main Street, construction of a roundabout at North Main and Auburn streets and the rebuild of the North Main and West State street corridors in conjunction with the state.

He also worked with the Citizens for Rebuilding Rockford Coalition for the passage of the 1 percent sales tax in 2007 and its renewal in 2011, which pays for the city’s capital improvements.

“Mr. Zuroske made many positive contributions in developing and implementing the city’s capital improvement program, and we wish him the best in his future endeavors,” City Administrator Jim Ryan said. The resignation was in the “best interest of the city and Mr. Zuroske that we separate the employment relationship.”

Zuroske’s capital plans had, at times, been challenged by aldermen who questioned his priorities for improvements. Several council members wanted to see more neighborhood road and arterial street improvements rather than big-ticket revamps of infrastructure.

The resignation comes with the city on the brink of several major construction efforts. The projects handled by Zuroske, which included plans to renovate the former Ingersoll building into a downtown sports complex, will be directed by City Engineer Matt Vitner.

“I don’t see any projects taking a step back,” Ald. Tom McNamara said. “We have one of the busiest construction seasons ahead of us and I feel very confident with Matt Vitner and Tim Hanson,” the city’s director of Public Works.